Marist College Land History: Evolution of Marist College Housing
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Evolution of Marist College housing
Original plans for Marist College called for commuting students
only except for the Marist Brothers who were completing their
training to teach in Marist Schools. When Richard Foy became
President, Brothers John Malachy Hoffman and Daniel Kirk
showed him the results of a survey they had conducted in all
Catholic grammar schools and secondary schools within a fifty
mile radius; these predicted that there was not enough of a
pool of potential students to reach even the planned cohort of
600 commuting lay students.
Foy authorized seeking a limited number of non-commuting
students. By Fall 1959 ten such students had enrolled at Marist
College. They were initially housed at the Kings Court Hotel on
Cannon Street in the city of Poughkeepsie. The arrangements
were unsatisfactory for both the hotel and the students. By
January 1960 the students moved on campus to a bungalow
which previously had been used for housing novices in training
for the Marist Brothers. This bungalow was behind the original
Novitiate building on the Bech property (near where the road
to the McCann Athletic Center merges into the parking lot).
The resident students were fed by the student brothers'
kitchen in a separate room in the original Fontaine Building
located behind the present chapel.
The Donnelly building was then under construction and would
have space for uses other than classrooms for several years.
Two floors at the southern end were set aside for dormitory
rooms, with four students to a room. A cafeteria was installed
in the lower floor.
Meanwhile, the College applied for HHFA loans to build a
separate permanent building. Architect Donald Lane drew up
plans for a building to house 120 students. Three were
planned, but only the first was funded by the HHFA. The three
6/16/2021
evolution of housing
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristland/evolution_of_housing.html
2/4
were planned for what is now the McCann Baseball Field. When
the site proved unsuitable for foundation work, the dormitory
named Sheahan Dormitory was shifted to a rock cliff over the
railroad with excellent views of the Hudson. This building was
the first approved by the HHFA for construction with sheet rock
walls instead of the cinder block walls normally used for
dormitories constructed after the second World War. The
college had to solicit bids for both cinder block and sheet rock;
when the latter came in lower, the HHFA approved the change.
In other ways the dormitory was in the style common
throughout the US at the time. The boring effect of the long
corridor was alleviated somewhat by Mrs. Evelyn Fisher, then
the design consultant for the College, who painted the rooms
different colors. When the doors were left open, this created a
rainbow effect in the main corridors.
As the Sheahan dormitory was constructed for well under the
planned budget, the HHFA approved the College plans for a
larger dormitory for 300 students, housed on six floors of 50
students each. The style of the Leo Dormitory still continued
the pattern of post World War 2 construction, with the
exception of sheet rock walls instead of cinder block.
The long range plan for Marist had changed from a total of 600
students to 1500 students: 100 Student Brothers, 900
residential students, and 500 commuting students. This led to
a design of a larger dormitory building. About this time, a
group of faculty and administrators visited Michigan State
University, which had gained a reputation for innovative
student housing. The research at Michigan State indicated that
a college student rarely made close acquaintance with more
than two dozen students during four years at college. The
design of champagnat Dormitory reflected this, as it logically
can be thought of as separate dormitories stacked over each
other. The students were planned two to a room, but in smaller
groupings of 24 students separated by a common room. Two
6/16/2021
evolution of housing
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristland/evolution_of_housing.html
3/4
floors were joined to a two story common room, so groupings
might be constructed of 24, 48 or 96 students. The College
applied for financing through the New York State Dormitory
Authority because the HHFA would approve only living and
dining spaces; Marist wanted to include classroom space and a
theater. The initial Champagnat complex was opened by
Summer 1966. It freed up the space in Donnelly Hall for
academic uses.
These dormitory arrangements remained in force during the
1960s and 1970s. One exception was the addition of the
Gregory and Benoit houses on the (then) north campus, each
housing 32 students. Originally designed for use by the student
brothers, they soon were converted into regular housing and
were occupied by groups which presented various themes for
living together.
In the mid 1970s, I visited Stonehill College in Massachusetts
en route to a summer vacation at Cape Cod. This college,
operated by the same order which operates Notre Dame
University at South Bend, was founded about the same time as
Marist, but was better funded by its founders. It developed
some common dormitories, but soon switched to apartment
style housing. This supported a progressive system of housing:
entering students would begin in the older style dormitories,
make friends there, and then assemble into smaller groups to
apply for the smaller apartment housing constructed in phase
two.
This progressive style fits nicely with the changing
backgrounds of incoming students. In earlier years, students
often lived two or three to a room at home, and the transition
to two-in-a-room was easy. Nowadays most incoming students
live in their own rooms; transitioning to two-in-a-room is
problematical for some, as it requires adjustment the to needs,
customs and styles of others. Small group living in later years
6/16/2021
evolution of housing
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristland/evolution_of_housing.html
4/4
at college reinforces patterns of congenial groups of moderate
size.
With the growth of the college to 4000+ students, all future
housing on the north campus and east campus is apartment
style. The most recent housing complex consists of rooms for
singles.
return to ===>
main menu
top of this page
First draft 18 August 2012
Text drafted in 2011, but transferred to a separate page 18 August 2012.
Most recent revision June 13, 2013
evolution of housing
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristland/evolution_of_housing.html
1/4
Evolution of Marist College housing
Original plans for Marist College called for commuting students
only except for the Marist Brothers who were completing their
training to teach in Marist Schools. When Richard Foy became
President, Brothers John Malachy Hoffman and Daniel Kirk
showed him the results of a survey they had conducted in all
Catholic grammar schools and secondary schools within a fifty
mile radius; these predicted that there was not enough of a
pool of potential students to reach even the planned cohort of
600 commuting lay students.
Foy authorized seeking a limited number of non-commuting
students. By Fall 1959 ten such students had enrolled at Marist
College. They were initially housed at the Kings Court Hotel on
Cannon Street in the city of Poughkeepsie. The arrangements
were unsatisfactory for both the hotel and the students. By
January 1960 the students moved on campus to a bungalow
which previously had been used for housing novices in training
for the Marist Brothers. This bungalow was behind the original
Novitiate building on the Bech property (near where the road
to the McCann Athletic Center merges into the parking lot).
The resident students were fed by the student brothers'
kitchen in a separate room in the original Fontaine Building
located behind the present chapel.
The Donnelly building was then under construction and would
have space for uses other than classrooms for several years.
Two floors at the southern end were set aside for dormitory
rooms, with four students to a room. A cafeteria was installed
in the lower floor.
Meanwhile, the College applied for HHFA loans to build a
separate permanent building. Architect Donald Lane drew up
plans for a building to house 120 students. Three were
planned, but only the first was funded by the HHFA. The three
6/16/2021
evolution of housing
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristland/evolution_of_housing.html
2/4
were planned for what is now the McCann Baseball Field. When
the site proved unsuitable for foundation work, the dormitory
named Sheahan Dormitory was shifted to a rock cliff over the
railroad with excellent views of the Hudson. This building was
the first approved by the HHFA for construction with sheet rock
walls instead of the cinder block walls normally used for
dormitories constructed after the second World War. The
college had to solicit bids for both cinder block and sheet rock;
when the latter came in lower, the HHFA approved the change.
In other ways the dormitory was in the style common
throughout the US at the time. The boring effect of the long
corridor was alleviated somewhat by Mrs. Evelyn Fisher, then
the design consultant for the College, who painted the rooms
different colors. When the doors were left open, this created a
rainbow effect in the main corridors.
As the Sheahan dormitory was constructed for well under the
planned budget, the HHFA approved the College plans for a
larger dormitory for 300 students, housed on six floors of 50
students each. The style of the Leo Dormitory still continued
the pattern of post World War 2 construction, with the
exception of sheet rock walls instead of cinder block.
The long range plan for Marist had changed from a total of 600
students to 1500 students: 100 Student Brothers, 900
residential students, and 500 commuting students. This led to
a design of a larger dormitory building. About this time, a
group of faculty and administrators visited Michigan State
University, which had gained a reputation for innovative
student housing. The research at Michigan State indicated that
a college student rarely made close acquaintance with more
than two dozen students during four years at college. The
design of champagnat Dormitory reflected this, as it logically
can be thought of as separate dormitories stacked over each
other. The students were planned two to a room, but in smaller
groupings of 24 students separated by a common room. Two
6/16/2021
evolution of housing
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristland/evolution_of_housing.html
3/4
floors were joined to a two story common room, so groupings
might be constructed of 24, 48 or 96 students. The College
applied for financing through the New York State Dormitory
Authority because the HHFA would approve only living and
dining spaces; Marist wanted to include classroom space and a
theater. The initial Champagnat complex was opened by
Summer 1966. It freed up the space in Donnelly Hall for
academic uses.
These dormitory arrangements remained in force during the
1960s and 1970s. One exception was the addition of the
Gregory and Benoit houses on the (then) north campus, each
housing 32 students. Originally designed for use by the student
brothers, they soon were converted into regular housing and
were occupied by groups which presented various themes for
living together.
In the mid 1970s, I visited Stonehill College in Massachusetts
en route to a summer vacation at Cape Cod. This college,
operated by the same order which operates Notre Dame
University at South Bend, was founded about the same time as
Marist, but was better funded by its founders. It developed
some common dormitories, but soon switched to apartment
style housing. This supported a progressive system of housing:
entering students would begin in the older style dormitories,
make friends there, and then assemble into smaller groups to
apply for the smaller apartment housing constructed in phase
two.
This progressive style fits nicely with the changing
backgrounds of incoming students. In earlier years, students
often lived two or three to a room at home, and the transition
to two-in-a-room was easy. Nowadays most incoming students
live in their own rooms; transitioning to two-in-a-room is
problematical for some, as it requires adjustment the to needs,
customs and styles of others. Small group living in later years
6/16/2021
evolution of housing
https://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristland/evolution_of_housing.html
4/4
at college reinforces patterns of congenial groups of moderate
size.
With the growth of the college to 4000+ students, all future
housing on the north campus and east campus is apartment
style. The most recent housing complex consists of rooms for
singles.
return to ===>
main menu
top of this page
First draft 18 August 2012
Text drafted in 2011, but transferred to a separate page 18 August 2012.
Most recent revision June 13, 2013